The List 5260 TGB
Good Saturday Morning April 4 to all.
Regards
Skip
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This Day In Naval History – April 4
1776
Continental Navy Frigate Columbus captures the British schooner HMS Hawk, making the first American capture of a British armed vessel. Columbus later captures the British brig Bolton.
1854
American and British naval brigades of 90 and 150 men engage Chinese Imperial troops at Shanghai after acts of aggression against American and British citizens. The American party fell under the command of Cmdr. J. Kelly, the commanding officer of USS Plymouth.
1933
USS Akron (ZRS-4)crashes tail-first into the sea due to a violent storm coming off the New Jersey coast, killing Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, Medal of Honor recipient and the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, along with 75 others. Only three survive.
1943
USS Porpoise (SS 172) sinks the Japanese whaling ship Koa Maru near Eniwetok.
1949
The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The treaty promotes peace, stability, and well-being in the North Atlantic area with a collective defense effort.
1981
USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) is launched and commissioned the following year. She is named in honor of Ensign Groves for "fearlessly plunging into aerial combat against large formations of enemy aircraft threatening the American carriers in the Battle of Midway."
Thanks to CHINFO
No CHINFO on the weekends
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April 4
527
In Constantinople, Justin, seriously ill, crowns his nephew Justinian as his co-emperor.
1581
Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world.
1812
The territory of Orleans becomes the 18th state and will become known as Louisiana.
1818
The United States flag is declared to have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars.
1841
President William Henry Harrison, aged 68, becomes the first president to die in office, just a month after being sworn in.
1862
The Battle of Yorktown begins as Union gen. George B. McClellan closes in on Richmond, Va.
1917
The U.S. Senate votes 90-6 to enter World War I on Allied side.
1918
The Battle of the Somme ends.
1941
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa.
1949
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty is signed.
1968
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
1974
Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record.
1979
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the president of Pakistan is executed.
1985
A coup in Sudan ousts President Nimeiry and replaces him with General Dahab.
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Lest we forget thanks to Clint
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
If a person lives long enough they realize they can learn new things every day. It's part of America's history and this video is really awesome.
Too bad this video can't be shown before all events to remind everyone why The National Anthem is played. Younger generations have yet to
understand what this country is all about. Next time you see hats on, people not standing at attention with their hand over their heart while our
National Anthem is played, remember this video. Also remember, we have some misguided persons who want to change our National Anthem
because they feel the Star Spangled Banner is just too combative and portrays violence. It is from violence that we, as Americans, became a
"free nation." Lest we forget!
Click below for a great video and perhaps a much greater understanding of the history of America and our National Anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ YaxGNQE5ZLA
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To All,
H-GRAM 44
This is another fabulous H-GRAM from Admiral Cox and the folks at the Naval History and Heritage Command. At this point in History the Battle of Okinawa was only into Day four of what would become a 92 day of carnage on both sides. With the Japanese fighting from fully prepared fortifications in the Shuri Line and hundreds of Kamikaze against the largest fleet ever assembled by the US Navy. This is the first of the series of this battle. Be sure to click on the highlighted items for more.
skip
H-Gram 044: "Floating Chrysanthemums"—The Naval Battle of Okinawa
3 April 2020
![]()
Scene off the Okinawa invasion beaches during the pre-invasion bombardment, circa 1 April 1945. In foreground are LCS-16, LCS-15, and LCS-14. USS West Virginia (BB-48) is beyond them, at left. Firing in right distance is USS Idaho (BB-42) (NH 96606).
Contents
Operation Iceberg: Background to the Invasion of Okinawa
"Floating Chrysanthemums": The Naval Battle of Okinawa, Part 1
"Operation Heaven Number One" (Ten-ichi-go): The Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945
75th Anniversary of World War II
Operation Iceberg: Background to the Invasion of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War and lasted almost three months, from late March to June 1945. Over 4,900 U.S. Sailors died, more than U.S. Army (4,675) and U.S. Marine Corps (2,938) personnel did in the land battle. Almost the entire Japanese garrison of 77,000 died, along with about half the civilian population of Okinawa. The island was the key strategic stepping-stone necessary for follow-on operations to invade Japan. To accomplish the mission, the U.S. Navy had to transport, supply, and defend over 500,000 U.S. Army and Marines over vulnerable logistics lines thousands of miles long, and then defend the forces on the island while in range of thousands of Japanese land-based aircraft, whose kamikaze suicide tactics made them much more effective than conventional attackers.
The Japanese strategy ashore, in the air, and on the sea, was to drag out the fight as long as possible, while inflicting as many casualties as possible, and make it clear to the Allies that any invasion of Japan would be enormously costly as the Japanese proved their willingness to fight and die to the last man. In the case of the kamikaze, this meant choosing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. Although the idea of the kamikaze, to knowingly intend to die, was alien to an American mindset, there were innumerable examples of U.S. sailors demonstrating resolve as great as the Japanese pilots. Gunners stood their ground, firing on kamikaze to the bitter end (20-mm gunners "died in the straps"), other times continuing to fire as their ship burned around them. Damage control teams repeatedly refused to give up on their ships even when it seemed all hope was lost; sometimes they pulled off a miracle, sometimes they didn't, but they often died trying. The fuel in the kamikaze aircraft resulted in more fire on impact than conventional bombs and, as a result, among the many Sailors wounded was a high proportion of severe burn injuries.
The Japanese may have lost the battle and lost the island, but they also made their point. By the time the battle was over, there was no doubt in anyone's mind just how horrific the casualties would be on both sides in any invasion of Japan.
For more on the background for the invasion of Okinawa, please see attachment H-044-1.
![]()
USS Hancock (CV-19) afire after being hit by a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, 7 April 1945. Note fires burning fore and aft, and TBM Avenger flying over the carrier. Photographed from USS Pasadena (CL-65) (80-G-344876).
"Floating Chrysanthemums": The Naval Battle of Okinawa, Part 1
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, if the U.S. Navy should last for 1,000 years, the Battle of Okinawa should be remembered as its "finest hour." For almost three months, the ships of the U.S. Navy operated at the end of an immensely long logistics trail, constantly within range of large numbers of land-based aircraft, defending the U.S. Army and Marine forces locked in a protracted bloody battle ashore on Okinawa. Facing an onslaught of over 1,400 kamikaze attacks by pilots determined to die to defend their homeland, the ships of the U.S. Navy didn't flinch, despite horrific casualties. Some of the ships that took the worst of the kamikaze attacks survived and some didn't; there was a significant degree of chance involved in determining the outcome. What was consistent throughout, however, was the extraordinary valor of the ships' crews. At Okinawa, the price of victory was extremely high: over 4,900 U.S. Sailors gave their lives for our nation and that sacrifice deserves to be remembered forever.
The initial two weeks of the invasion of Okinawa went reasonably well, and losses were relatively light, with the exception of destroyer Halligan (DD-584), which hit a mine on 26 March and sank with heavy loss of life (153) when her magazine blew. The minesweeper Skylark (AM-63) hit a mine and sank. The gunboat LCI(G)-82 was sunk by a small Japanese suicide boat. Frequent raids by small groups of kamikaze aircraft and conventional air strikes took a toll, with two fleet carriers (Franklin—CV-13—and Wasp—CV-18), escort carrier Wake Island (CVE-65), five destroyers, one destroyer escort, one destroyer-minesweeper, one destroyer transport, and six attack transport/cargo ships being damaged enough to be put out of action for more than 30 days.
The first of ten major kamikaze attacks occurred on 6 and 7 April 1945. The Japanese term was Kikusui ("Floating Chrysanthemums") Operation No. 1, in which 355 kamikaze aircraft and another 340 planes in a conventional strike and escort roles attacked U.S. forces off Okinawa. U.S. naval intelligence knew the major raid was coming and senior U.S. commanders were warned, and the ships received general warning. Many of the kamikaze pilots had much less experience then those at Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, and many fell easy prey to the large numbers of radar-directed U.S. Navy fighters. Those that made it through the fighter gauntlet tended to go after the first ship they saw, and the U.S. destroyers on the northern radar picket stations bore the brunt of the attacks.
The destroyers Bush (DD-529) and Colhoun (DD-801) were sunk after epic fights against overwhelming odds and despite extraordinary damage control efforts. The destroyer-minesweeper Emmons (DMS-22) also put up a fight for the ages before she succumbed. Epic damage control efforts saved destroyers Newcomb (DD-586),Leutze (DD-481), Witter (DE-636), and Morris (DD-417) from sinking, although their damage was so severe that they would not be repaired. Of this group, Newcomb and Luetze's heroic fight was one worthy of legend. Four more destroyers and two destroyer escorts were badly damaged and put out of action for at least 30 days. The kamikaze also sank an LST and two Victory ships loaded with ammunition. The fleet carrier Hancock (CV-19) was hit on the second day of Kikusui No. 1 and damaged enough that she had to return to the States.
As bad as it was, from the Japanese perspective, the results of Kikusui No.1 were far less than they hoped, given the numbers of aircraft that they sacrificed. That wouldn't stop them from trying nine more times in the next two months with mass wave attacks (and small-scale attacks continued almost constantly). Kikusui No. 1 was the largest such mass attack, but it wouldn't be the most damaging.
For more on the first weeks of the Naval Battle of Okinawa and Kikusui No. 1 up to the start of Kikusui No.2 on 11 April 1945, please see attachment H-044-2. H-Gram 045 will continue the story.
![]()
The Japanese battleship Yamato blows up, following massive attacks by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945. An escorting destroyer is at left. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) aircraft (NH 62582).
"Operation Heaven Number One" (Ten-ichi-go): The Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945
The Japanese super-battleship Yamato, the most powerful battleship in the world with her 18-inch guns, sortied from Japan on 6 April 1945 to oppose the U.S. landings on Okinawa. She would be no match for 390 carrier aircraft from the U.S. Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 58) that swarmed Yamato on 7 April 1945 and ensured she didn't get anywhere near Okinawa. U.S. naval intelligence knew the details of the operation almost before senior Japanese navy commanders (and before the skippers of Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, and the eight destroyers that would escort Yamato on a one-way suicide mission as the "Surface Special Attack Force"—without air cover). Those same skippers argued vociferously against the mission, believing it would be futile and wasteful, or as Captain Tameichi Hara of Yahagi stated, "like throwing an egg against a rock." However, in the end, every one of those skippers executed their orders to the best of their ability.
With the advance warning, U.S. commanders Admiral Raymond Spruance (Fifth Fleet), Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher (CTF 58), and others were ready. U.S. submarines picked up Yamato as she exited the Inland Sea and tracked her all night. U.S. scout planes from the TF 58 carriers, and Mariner flying boats operating from a tender at Kerama Retto (southwest of Okinawa), knew where to find her and tracked her all morning. At 1000 on 7 April, five fleet carriers and four light carriers of TF 58 launched a first wave of 280 fighters, dive-bombers, and torpedo bombers. Not long afterward, three fleet carriers and one light carrier launched 110 more aircraft. Although 53 aircraft from the first wave didn't find Yamato in the difficult cloud conditions, it didn't matter. The Japanese force put up a valiant fight, and Japanese skippers demonstrated their extraordinary skill at avoiding bombs and torpedoes through maneuver; but the great volume of anti-aircraft fire was also wildly inaccurate. Cumulative damage took its toll on Yamato and, by the end, both she and Yahagi had become torpedo and bomb sumps.
For the loss of ten aircraft and 12 men, the aviators of TF 58 sank Yamato, Yahagi, and four destroyers (two sunk, two scuttled), and one of the surviving destroyers had to steam backwards to Japan without her bow. About 4,240 Japanese sailors (3,055 from Yamato alone) gave their lives for the emperor and to defend their homeland. They knew their mission was doomed from the start, but they did their duty anyway. But, like their kamikaze brothers, they made a statement that they would never quit, no matter the odds, and they were prepared to fight to the death. The United States certainly got the message that an invasion of Japan would be a bloodbath of extreme proportions for both sides.
For more on the sinking of Yamato, please see attachment H-044-3.
As always, you are welcome to disseminate H-grams further as you desire. "Back issues" can be found at Naval History and Heritage Command's website. NHHC's homepage has much more information about the Battle for Okinawa and many other events in U.S. naval history.
Published: Fri Apr 03 15:20:02 EDT 2020
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Thanks to Dr.Rich
Thanks to Michael ...
Sue would say "TMI"...
The History of Toilet Paper
With the run on toilet paper that we've had, it's nice to learn about its origin.
This is a bit of history that will truly make us thankful. We definitely need to thank the Chinese. Sometimes it's good to read something that makes you smile! I know that you have always been curious, so now you'll know.
1. The first recorded use of toilet paper was in 6th Century China.
2. By the 14th Century, the Chinese government was mass-producing it.
3. Packaged toilet paper wasn't sold in the United States until 1857.
4. Joseph Gayety, the man who introduced packaged TP to the U.S., had his name printed on every sheet.
5. Global toilet paper demand uses nearly 30,000 trees every day - that's 10 million trees a year.
6. It wasn't until 1935 that a manufacturer was able to promise Splinter-Free Toilet Paper.
7. Seven percent of Americans admit to stealing rolls of toilet paper from hotels.
8. Americans use an average of 8.6 sheets of toilet paper per trip to the bathroom.
9. The average roll has 333 sheets.
10. Historically, what you use to wipe depended on your income level.
11. In the Middle Ages, they used something called a gompf stick, which was just an actual stick used to scrape.
12. Wealthy Romans used wool soaked in rose water, and French royalty used lace.
13. Other things that were used before toilet paper include hay, corn cobs, sticks, stones, sand, moss, hemp, wool, husks, fruit peels, ferns, sponges, seashells, knotted ropes, and broken pottery (ouch!).
14. Seventy-to-75% of the world still doesn't use toilet paper because it is too expensive or there is not sufficient plumbing.
15. In many Western European countries, bidets are seen as more effective and preferable to toilet paper.
16. Colored toilet paper was popular in the U.S. until the 1940s.
17. The reason toilet paper disintegrates so quickly when wet is that the fibers used to make it are very short.
18. On the International Space Station, they still use regular toilet paper, but it has to be sealed in special containers and compressed.
19. During Desert Storm, the U.S. Army used toilet paper to camouflage their tanks.
20. In 1973, Johnny Carson caused a toilet paper shortage. He said as a joke that there was a shortage, when there wasn't, until everyone believed him and ran out to buy up the supply. It took three weeks for some stores to get more stock.
21. There is a contest sponsored by Charmin to design and make wedding dresses out of toilet paper. The winner gets $2,000.
22. There was a toilet paper museum in Wisconsin--the Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue--but it closed in 2000.
23. The museum once had over 3,000 rolls of TP from places all over the world, including The Guggenheim, Ellis Island, and Graceland.
24. There is still a virtual toilet paper museum called Nobody's Perfect.
Edit
25. In 1996, President Clinton passed a Toilet Paper Tax of 6 cents per roll, a tax that is still in effect today.
26. The Pentagon uses, on average, 666 rolls of toilet paper a day.
27. The most expensive toilet paper in the world is the Portuguese brand, Renova.
28. Renova is a three-ply, perfumed paper, costs $3 per roll, and comes in several colors including black, red, blue, and green.
29. The CEO of Renova came up with the idea for black toilet paper while he was at a Cirque du Soleil show.
30. Beyoncé uses only red Renova toilet paper.
31. Kris Jenner uses only the black Renova toilet paper.
32. If you hang your toilet paper so you can pull it from the bottom, you're considered more intelligent than someone who pulls it from the top. (Wonder how this was determined?)
33. Koji Suzuki, a Japanese horror novelist best known for writing The Ring, had an entire novel printed on a single roll of toilet paper.
34. The novel takes place in a public bathroom, and the entire story runs approximately three-feet long.
35. When asked what necessity they would bring to a desert island, 49% of people said toilet paper before food.
36. Queen Elizabeth II wipes her royal bottom with silk handkerchiefs. Wonder if the royal chambermaid gets to wash those?? Yeah, sure wouldn't want that job!
37. Muslims wipe their bums with their bare hand---always the left hand. They eat with their right hand. If you are caught shop-lifting, your right hand is cut off, forcing you to eat with your poopy left hand. Yeeeechdt!
Relax! This history was sent to you using my right hand.
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Good Saturday Morning April 4 to all.
Regards
Skip
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This Day In Naval History – April 4
1776
Continental Navy Frigate Columbus captures the British schooner HMS Hawk, making the first American capture of a British armed vessel. Columbus later captures the British brig Bolton.
1854
American and British naval brigades of 90 and 150 men engage Chinese Imperial troops at Shanghai after acts of aggression against American and British citizens. The American party fell under the command of Cmdr. J. Kelly, the commanding officer of USS Plymouth.
1933
USS Akron (ZRS-4)crashes tail-first into the sea due to a violent storm coming off the New Jersey coast, killing Rear Adm. William A. Moffett, Medal of Honor recipient and the first Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics, along with 75 others. Only three survive.
1943
USS Porpoise (SS 172) sinks the Japanese whaling ship Koa Maru near Eniwetok.
1949
The North Atlantic Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., establishing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The treaty promotes peace, stability, and well-being in the North Atlantic area with a collective defense effort.
1981
USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) is launched and commissioned the following year. She is named in honor of Ensign Groves for "fearlessly plunging into aerial combat against large formations of enemy aircraft threatening the American carriers in the Battle of Midway."
Thanks to CHINFO
No CHINFO on the weekends
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April 4
527
In Constantinople, Justin, seriously ill, crowns his nephew Justinian as his co-emperor.
1581
Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world.
1812
The territory of Orleans becomes the 18th state and will become known as Louisiana.
1818
The United States flag is declared to have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars.
1841
President William Henry Harrison, aged 68, becomes the first president to die in office, just a month after being sworn in.
1862
The Battle of Yorktown begins as Union gen. George B. McClellan closes in on Richmond, Va.
1917
The U.S. Senate votes 90-6 to enter World War I on Allied side.
1918
The Battle of the Somme ends.
1941
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa.
1949
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty is signed.
1968
Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
1974
Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record.
1979
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the president of Pakistan is executed.
1985
A coup in Sudan ousts President Nimeiry and replaces him with General Dahab.
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Lest we forget thanks to Clint
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
If a person lives long enough they realize they can learn new things every day. It's part of America's history and this video is really awesome.
Too bad this video can't be shown before all events to remind everyone why The National Anthem is played. Younger generations have yet to
understand what this country is all about. Next time you see hats on, people not standing at attention with their hand over their heart while our
National Anthem is played, remember this video. Also remember, we have some misguided persons who want to change our National Anthem
because they feel the Star Spangled Banner is just too combative and portrays violence. It is from violence that we, as Americans, became a
"free nation." Lest we forget!
Click below for a great video and perhaps a much greater understanding of the history of America and our National Anthem.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ YaxGNQE5ZLA
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To All,
H-GRAM 44
This is another fabulous H-GRAM from Admiral Cox and the folks at the Naval History and Heritage Command. At this point in History the Battle of Okinawa was only into Day four of what would become a 92 day of carnage on both sides. With the Japanese fighting from fully prepared fortifications in the Shuri Line and hundreds of Kamikaze against the largest fleet ever assembled by the US Navy. This is the first of the series of this battle. Be sure to click on the highlighted items for more.
skip
H-Gram 044: "Floating Chrysanthemums"—The Naval Battle of Okinawa
3 April 2020
Scene off the Okinawa invasion beaches during the pre-invasion bombardment, circa 1 April 1945. In foreground are LCS-16, LCS-15, and LCS-14. USS West Virginia (BB-48) is beyond them, at left. Firing in right distance is USS Idaho (BB-42) (NH 96606).
Contents
Operation Iceberg: Background to the Invasion of Okinawa
"Floating Chrysanthemums": The Naval Battle of Okinawa, Part 1
"Operation Heaven Number One" (Ten-ichi-go): The Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945
75th Anniversary of World War II
Operation Iceberg: Background to the Invasion of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War and lasted almost three months, from late March to June 1945. Over 4,900 U.S. Sailors died, more than U.S. Army (4,675) and U.S. Marine Corps (2,938) personnel did in the land battle. Almost the entire Japanese garrison of 77,000 died, along with about half the civilian population of Okinawa. The island was the key strategic stepping-stone necessary for follow-on operations to invade Japan. To accomplish the mission, the U.S. Navy had to transport, supply, and defend over 500,000 U.S. Army and Marines over vulnerable logistics lines thousands of miles long, and then defend the forces on the island while in range of thousands of Japanese land-based aircraft, whose kamikaze suicide tactics made them much more effective than conventional attackers.
The Japanese strategy ashore, in the air, and on the sea, was to drag out the fight as long as possible, while inflicting as many casualties as possible, and make it clear to the Allies that any invasion of Japan would be enormously costly as the Japanese proved their willingness to fight and die to the last man. In the case of the kamikaze, this meant choosing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. Although the idea of the kamikaze, to knowingly intend to die, was alien to an American mindset, there were innumerable examples of U.S. sailors demonstrating resolve as great as the Japanese pilots. Gunners stood their ground, firing on kamikaze to the bitter end (20-mm gunners "died in the straps"), other times continuing to fire as their ship burned around them. Damage control teams repeatedly refused to give up on their ships even when it seemed all hope was lost; sometimes they pulled off a miracle, sometimes they didn't, but they often died trying. The fuel in the kamikaze aircraft resulted in more fire on impact than conventional bombs and, as a result, among the many Sailors wounded was a high proportion of severe burn injuries.
The Japanese may have lost the battle and lost the island, but they also made their point. By the time the battle was over, there was no doubt in anyone's mind just how horrific the casualties would be on both sides in any invasion of Japan.
For more on the background for the invasion of Okinawa, please see attachment H-044-1.
USS Hancock (CV-19) afire after being hit by a kamikaze attack off Okinawa, 7 April 1945. Note fires burning fore and aft, and TBM Avenger flying over the carrier. Photographed from USS Pasadena (CL-65) (80-G-344876).
"Floating Chrysanthemums": The Naval Battle of Okinawa, Part 1
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, if the U.S. Navy should last for 1,000 years, the Battle of Okinawa should be remembered as its "finest hour." For almost three months, the ships of the U.S. Navy operated at the end of an immensely long logistics trail, constantly within range of large numbers of land-based aircraft, defending the U.S. Army and Marine forces locked in a protracted bloody battle ashore on Okinawa. Facing an onslaught of over 1,400 kamikaze attacks by pilots determined to die to defend their homeland, the ships of the U.S. Navy didn't flinch, despite horrific casualties. Some of the ships that took the worst of the kamikaze attacks survived and some didn't; there was a significant degree of chance involved in determining the outcome. What was consistent throughout, however, was the extraordinary valor of the ships' crews. At Okinawa, the price of victory was extremely high: over 4,900 U.S. Sailors gave their lives for our nation and that sacrifice deserves to be remembered forever.
The initial two weeks of the invasion of Okinawa went reasonably well, and losses were relatively light, with the exception of destroyer Halligan (DD-584), which hit a mine on 26 March and sank with heavy loss of life (153) when her magazine blew. The minesweeper Skylark (AM-63) hit a mine and sank. The gunboat LCI(G)-82 was sunk by a small Japanese suicide boat. Frequent raids by small groups of kamikaze aircraft and conventional air strikes took a toll, with two fleet carriers (Franklin—CV-13—and Wasp—CV-18), escort carrier Wake Island (CVE-65), five destroyers, one destroyer escort, one destroyer-minesweeper, one destroyer transport, and six attack transport/cargo ships being damaged enough to be put out of action for more than 30 days.
The first of ten major kamikaze attacks occurred on 6 and 7 April 1945. The Japanese term was Kikusui ("Floating Chrysanthemums") Operation No. 1, in which 355 kamikaze aircraft and another 340 planes in a conventional strike and escort roles attacked U.S. forces off Okinawa. U.S. naval intelligence knew the major raid was coming and senior U.S. commanders were warned, and the ships received general warning. Many of the kamikaze pilots had much less experience then those at Lingayen Gulf in January 1945, and many fell easy prey to the large numbers of radar-directed U.S. Navy fighters. Those that made it through the fighter gauntlet tended to go after the first ship they saw, and the U.S. destroyers on the northern radar picket stations bore the brunt of the attacks.
The destroyers Bush (DD-529) and Colhoun (DD-801) were sunk after epic fights against overwhelming odds and despite extraordinary damage control efforts. The destroyer-minesweeper Emmons (DMS-22) also put up a fight for the ages before she succumbed. Epic damage control efforts saved destroyers Newcomb (DD-586),Leutze (DD-481), Witter (DE-636), and Morris (DD-417) from sinking, although their damage was so severe that they would not be repaired. Of this group, Newcomb and Luetze's heroic fight was one worthy of legend. Four more destroyers and two destroyer escorts were badly damaged and put out of action for at least 30 days. The kamikaze also sank an LST and two Victory ships loaded with ammunition. The fleet carrier Hancock (CV-19) was hit on the second day of Kikusui No. 1 and damaged enough that she had to return to the States.
As bad as it was, from the Japanese perspective, the results of Kikusui No.1 were far less than they hoped, given the numbers of aircraft that they sacrificed. That wouldn't stop them from trying nine more times in the next two months with mass wave attacks (and small-scale attacks continued almost constantly). Kikusui No. 1 was the largest such mass attack, but it wouldn't be the most damaging.
For more on the first weeks of the Naval Battle of Okinawa and Kikusui No. 1 up to the start of Kikusui No.2 on 11 April 1945, please see attachment H-044-2. H-Gram 045 will continue the story.
The Japanese battleship Yamato blows up, following massive attacks by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945. An escorting destroyer is at left. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) aircraft (NH 62582).
"Operation Heaven Number One" (Ten-ichi-go): The Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945
The Japanese super-battleship Yamato, the most powerful battleship in the world with her 18-inch guns, sortied from Japan on 6 April 1945 to oppose the U.S. landings on Okinawa. She would be no match for 390 carrier aircraft from the U.S. Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 58) that swarmed Yamato on 7 April 1945 and ensured she didn't get anywhere near Okinawa. U.S. naval intelligence knew the details of the operation almost before senior Japanese navy commanders (and before the skippers of Yamato, the light cruiser Yahagi, and the eight destroyers that would escort Yamato on a one-way suicide mission as the "Surface Special Attack Force"—without air cover). Those same skippers argued vociferously against the mission, believing it would be futile and wasteful, or as Captain Tameichi Hara of Yahagi stated, "like throwing an egg against a rock." However, in the end, every one of those skippers executed their orders to the best of their ability.
With the advance warning, U.S. commanders Admiral Raymond Spruance (Fifth Fleet), Vice Admiral Marc Mitscher (CTF 58), and others were ready. U.S. submarines picked up Yamato as she exited the Inland Sea and tracked her all night. U.S. scout planes from the TF 58 carriers, and Mariner flying boats operating from a tender at Kerama Retto (southwest of Okinawa), knew where to find her and tracked her all morning. At 1000 on 7 April, five fleet carriers and four light carriers of TF 58 launched a first wave of 280 fighters, dive-bombers, and torpedo bombers. Not long afterward, three fleet carriers and one light carrier launched 110 more aircraft. Although 53 aircraft from the first wave didn't find Yamato in the difficult cloud conditions, it didn't matter. The Japanese force put up a valiant fight, and Japanese skippers demonstrated their extraordinary skill at avoiding bombs and torpedoes through maneuver; but the great volume of anti-aircraft fire was also wildly inaccurate. Cumulative damage took its toll on Yamato and, by the end, both she and Yahagi had become torpedo and bomb sumps.
For the loss of ten aircraft and 12 men, the aviators of TF 58 sank Yamato, Yahagi, and four destroyers (two sunk, two scuttled), and one of the surviving destroyers had to steam backwards to Japan without her bow. About 4,240 Japanese sailors (3,055 from Yamato alone) gave their lives for the emperor and to defend their homeland. They knew their mission was doomed from the start, but they did their duty anyway. But, like their kamikaze brothers, they made a statement that they would never quit, no matter the odds, and they were prepared to fight to the death. The United States certainly got the message that an invasion of Japan would be a bloodbath of extreme proportions for both sides.
For more on the sinking of Yamato, please see attachment H-044-3.
As always, you are welcome to disseminate H-grams further as you desire. "Back issues" can be found at Naval History and Heritage Command's website. NHHC's homepage has much more information about the Battle for Okinawa and many other events in U.S. naval history.
Published: Fri Apr 03 15:20:02 EDT 2020
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Thanks to Dr.Rich
Thanks to Michael ...
Sue would say "TMI"...
The History of Toilet Paper
With the run on toilet paper that we've had, it's nice to learn about its origin.
This is a bit of history that will truly make us thankful. We definitely need to thank the Chinese. Sometimes it's good to read something that makes you smile! I know that you have always been curious, so now you'll know.
1. The first recorded use of toilet paper was in 6th Century China.
2. By the 14th Century, the Chinese government was mass-producing it.
3. Packaged toilet paper wasn't sold in the United States until 1857.
4. Joseph Gayety, the man who introduced packaged TP to the U.S., had his name printed on every sheet.
5. Global toilet paper demand uses nearly 30,000 trees every day - that's 10 million trees a year.
6. It wasn't until 1935 that a manufacturer was able to promise Splinter-Free Toilet Paper.
7. Seven percent of Americans admit to stealing rolls of toilet paper from hotels.
8. Americans use an average of 8.6 sheets of toilet paper per trip to the bathroom.
9. The average roll has 333 sheets.
10. Historically, what you use to wipe depended on your income level.
11. In the Middle Ages, they used something called a gompf stick, which was just an actual stick used to scrape.
12. Wealthy Romans used wool soaked in rose water, and French royalty used lace.
13. Other things that were used before toilet paper include hay, corn cobs, sticks, stones, sand, moss, hemp, wool, husks, fruit peels, ferns, sponges, seashells, knotted ropes, and broken pottery (ouch!).
14. Seventy-to-75% of the world still doesn't use toilet paper because it is too expensive or there is not sufficient plumbing.
15. In many Western European countries, bidets are seen as more effective and preferable to toilet paper.
16. Colored toilet paper was popular in the U.S. until the 1940s.
17. The reason toilet paper disintegrates so quickly when wet is that the fibers used to make it are very short.
18. On the International Space Station, they still use regular toilet paper, but it has to be sealed in special containers and compressed.
19. During Desert Storm, the U.S. Army used toilet paper to camouflage their tanks.
20. In 1973, Johnny Carson caused a toilet paper shortage. He said as a joke that there was a shortage, when there wasn't, until everyone believed him and ran out to buy up the supply. It took three weeks for some stores to get more stock.
21. There is a contest sponsored by Charmin to design and make wedding dresses out of toilet paper. The winner gets $2,000.
22. There was a toilet paper museum in Wisconsin--the Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue--but it closed in 2000.
23. The museum once had over 3,000 rolls of TP from places all over the world, including The Guggenheim, Ellis Island, and Graceland.
24. There is still a virtual toilet paper museum called Nobody's Perfect.
Edit
25. In 1996, President Clinton passed a Toilet Paper Tax of 6 cents per roll, a tax that is still in effect today.
26. The Pentagon uses, on average, 666 rolls of toilet paper a day.
27. The most expensive toilet paper in the world is the Portuguese brand, Renova.
28. Renova is a three-ply, perfumed paper, costs $3 per roll, and comes in several colors including black, red, blue, and green.
29. The CEO of Renova came up with the idea for black toilet paper while he was at a Cirque du Soleil show.
30. Beyoncé uses only red Renova toilet paper.
31. Kris Jenner uses only the black Renova toilet paper.
32. If you hang your toilet paper so you can pull it from the bottom, you're considered more intelligent than someone who pulls it from the top. (Wonder how this was determined?)
33. Koji Suzuki, a Japanese horror novelist best known for writing The Ring, had an entire novel printed on a single roll of toilet paper.
34. The novel takes place in a public bathroom, and the entire story runs approximately three-feet long.
35. When asked what necessity they would bring to a desert island, 49% of people said toilet paper before food.
36. Queen Elizabeth II wipes her royal bottom with silk handkerchiefs. Wonder if the royal chambermaid gets to wash those?? Yeah, sure wouldn't want that job!
37. Muslims wipe their bums with their bare hand---always the left hand. They eat with their right hand. If you are caught shop-lifting, your right hand is cut off, forcing you to eat with your poopy left hand. Yeeeechdt!
Relax! This history was sent to you using my right hand.
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